Refried Beans and Texas Mexican Rice

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1. 1Step 1: In a molcajete make a paste of the cumin, black peppercorns, salt and garlic.
2. 2Step 2: In a deep skillet (add the oil if you like to) cook the rice over medium heat until it begins to take on some color.
3. 3Step 3: Add some of the water to the molcajete to remove all the ingredients and pour into the rice, being careful with the splatter. Add the crushed tomato and its juice.
4. 4Step 4: Bring the water to a boil, cover and lower the heat to very low.
5. 5Step 5: Cook, covered, for 15 minutes or so until the rice is fully cooked. Try not to remove the cover more than once as you check for doneness.
6. 6Step 6: Place all the ingredients except the salt in a crockpot and cook for 6 to 8 hours or so until they are completely tender. If on the stovetop, boil them for 3 hours, maybe 4, depending on the beans. Keep adding water so they don’t dry out or burn. If you want a foolproof method of testing for doneness, hold a couple of the beans in the palm of your hand and blow on them. If the skin peels off a bit, they’re done just right. Add the salt and adjust accordingly.
7. 7Step 7: Place the amount of beans you want to cook in a skillet with an equal amount of water and bring to the boiling point. Turn the heat down and cook on a medium simmer.
8. 8Step 8: Mash the beans with a masher and as you do so notice that the heat at the bottom of the skillet is browning the bean paste. Keep scraping the bottom of the skillet and brown the beans slowly. Add a little more water if it becomes dry. Keep browning the beans in this way slowly for about 20 minutes. Don’t burn them.